Tornadoes and Hail in North Dakota, July 14, 2003

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in North Dakota, July 14, 2003
Start: 2003-07-14T13:20
End: 2003-07-14T15:25
Location: North Dakota

July 14, 2003 · NWS FGF · 10 events in 4 counties and zones

7 hail, 3 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 10

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Grand Forks, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 14, 8:35 AM CST, 4 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 14, 8:35 AM CST, 4 hours 45 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
935 AM CDT MON JUL 14 2003

SURFACE TROUGH STILL SITTING IN CENTRAL ND/SD AS MESOETA REDEVELOPS
THE LOW LEVEL THETA-E RIDGE JUST WEST OF REDEVLOPING CONVECTION OVER
SOUTHEAST QUARTER OF ND. BIS 12Z SOUNDING IS STILL JUICY UP TO 750
MB WHERE THE WIND SHEARS TO WESTERLY FLOW. MEANWHILE THE UPPER JET
CORE APPROACHING FROM WEST/NORTHWEST AND ITS DIRECTIONAL SHEAR WILL
PUT NORTHWEST/WEST CENTRAL MN UNDER THE GUN THROUGH MID-DAY FOR
HIGHEST CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDER THOUGH WOULDN/T RULE OUT ISOLATED
SEVERE ANYWHERE IF SUFFICIENT HEATING IS ACHIEVED THIS AFTERNOON.

ZONES/GRIDS LOOK WELL HANDLED ATTM AND WILL NOT CHANGE MUCH AND
MIGHT NOT UPDATE ZONES EXCEPT TO MAKE WORDING MORE CURRENT...WILL
NOT REMOVE MENTION OF SEVERE. FLOOD POTENTIAL IS APPARENTLY NOT
ESPECIALLY HIGH AFTER A WHOLE NIGHT OF CONVECTION...BUT COULDN/T
DEAL WITH ANOTHER ROUND. ISOLATED HEAVY CELLS MAY BE A PROBLEM.

WILL NEED TO LOOK MORE CLOSELY AT THUNDER POTENTIAL ON WED/THU ALSO
IN AFTERNOON PACKAGE. SPC SHOWS MOST OF AREA IN SLIGHT RISK THOUGH
OUR POPS CONFINE THUNDER TO SOUTHERN PORTION. GFS HAS TRIED TO
DEVELOP AN MCS ON THU TO TRACK ALONG CANADA/NORTH DAKOTA BORDER...
LASTEST RUN WEAKENS IT AND TURNS IT SOUTHEAST UPON ARRIVAL. MOISTURE
SOURCE APPEARS TO DEPEND LARGELY ON DEVELOPING SURFACE LOW IN CO/WY
TO GIVE IT A BOOST NORTHWARD.

.FGF...NONE.

GV

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 14, 5:31 AM CST, 7 hours 49 minutes before

MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052>054-141430-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
631 AM CDT MON JUL 14 2003

...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER EASTERN NORTH
DAKOTA...NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA TODAY AND INTO EARLY
EVENING.

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...WEST
CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS EXTREME EASTERN
NORTH DAKOTA THIS MORNING AND MAINLY OVER NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL
MINNESOTA THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. THE PRIMARY THREAT WILL
BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE OVER THE CENTRAL DAKOTAS WILL PUSH EAST
ACROSS THE REGION TODAY EXITING EASTERN AREAS EARLY THIS EVENING.
WARM...MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR AHEAD OF THIS AREA OF LOW PRESSURE
WILL INTERACT WITH AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE TO PRODUCE THESE
STORMS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY.

THUNDERSTORMS ARE AGAIN EXPECTED ACROSS MAINLY SOUTHERN AREAS
WEDNESDAY NIGHT WITH CHANCES CONTINUING ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA
THURSDAY NIGHT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED TODAY INTO EARLY EVENING.

FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT
HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/FGF/INDEX.HTML (ALL LOWER CASE)

VOELKER

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 160 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:20 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 hail, 3 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Towner

When: July 14, 1:20 PM CST
Where: Towner County, 6 mi E of Rocklake
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.967, -97.250

Hail, Cavalier

When: July 14, 1:35 PM CST
Where: Cavalier County, 3 mi WSW of Clyde
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.783, -97.217

Tornado, Pembina

When: July 14, 2:10 PM CST to 2:20 PM CST
Where: Pembina County, 1 mi NE of Neche
Rating: F1
Path length: 5.5 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 48.967, -97.283

This tornado originated near Altona, Manitoba, Canada. The tornado tracked across the international border northeast of Neche, and continued southeast for about a mile across a wheat field at F1 intensity. The tornado skipped along for another 4.5 miles at F0 intensity.

Hail, Pembina

When: July 14, 2:21 PM CST
Where: Pembina County, Pembina
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.167, -98.850

Hail, Pembina

When: July 14, 2:30 PM CST
Where: Pembina County, Pembina
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.750, -98.133

Tornado, Pembina

When: July 14, 2:30 PM CST to 2:40 PM CST
Where: Pembina County, 2 mi W of Pembina
Rating: F0
Path length: 3.4 mi
Path width: 25 yd
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.983, -97.533

A tornado travelled from just west of Pembina in Pembina county, to the Red River about 2 miles south southeast of Pembina, then continued on for about one-half of a mile in Kittson county southeast of St. Vincent.

Hail, Pembina

When: July 14, 2:33 PM CST
Where: Pembina County, Pembina
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.783, -99.100

Hail, Pembina

When: July 14, 3:15 PM CST
Where: Pembina County, 2 mi S of Joliette
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.750, -98.950

Hail, Ramsey

When: July 14, 3:20 PM CST
Where: Ramsey County, 5 mi N of Devils Lake
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.967, -97.250

Tornado, Cavalier

When: July 14, 3:23 PM CST to 3:25 PM CST
Where: Cavalier County, 11 mi E of Langdon
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 25 yd
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 48.967, -97.250

The tornado touched down about 1 mile north of Highway 5.

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Dakota in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history The tornado archive for North Dakota, 2003 Warnings in North Dakota, July 2003

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5369370, 5369422, 5368791, 5369423, 5369424, 5369425, 5368787, 5368788, 5368789, 5368790.